


In the Wake of Winter

by maybeaslytherin



Series: we need some more season-8 fix it fics [3]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, honestly idek what this will become, this one is a wild ride
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:07:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24038626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maybeaslytherin/pseuds/maybeaslytherin
Summary: Westeros has to find a way to carry on after the Night King meets his end in King's Landing. Houses come together to find out what the end of their common foe means for them.
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Series: we need some more season-8 fix it fics [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1565812
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11





	In the Wake of Winter

**Author's Note:**

> Alright! So this is something that's been in my mind for about half a year. Its an AU starting in season 7 (no dragonpit meeting, but all of the players end up where they start season 8). Hopefully that makes sense, context will be explained throughout the story so there might be some things that don't line up with the show. This first chapter is sort of an explanation for the Battle of Winterfell and what happens in King's Landing. It starts with a bang because I really want to explore what happens after that in this story. Please let me know if you enjoyed this story!!

As the clouds of dust settled around him, Jon Snow dropped his arm, barely able to keep Long Claw in his grip. King’s Landing was in ruins, fallen buildings lining the streets with rubble. He looked ahead, at where the White Walker had been only moments ago, ready to kill Jon before it shattered into the wind. He didn’t know what had happened, but he knew that it was over, that somewhere the Night King had fallen. There would not be a repeat of the Battle of Winterfell. Finally, Jon could catch his breath. 

…

It seemed nearly impossible that only a fortnight had passed since the mixed group of the remaining armies left Winterfell. The ride was nearly silent; most were grieving one loss or another, family members held tight to each other, and the injured were tended to. 

Jon had spoken to enough people throughout the trip to put all of the pieces into place; the battle plan first started to go awry in the Godswood. Arya and Theon were among the guards that protected Bran, who was to spend the battle warging. He was to fly as a crow over the battle field, collect information, and use different calls to relay information; wight numbers, locations of the white walkers, when it was safe for Dany and Jon to fly over the field and attempt to take out the Night King with dragon-fire. However, Bran was one of the first targets of the White Walkers, and a number of them- more than Jon had thought to exist-approached the Weirwood tree. Arya was able to take out two of the four that made it through the other guards in the woods, and Theon took out another, but as he did so, one slipped past him. 

The White Walker knocked Bran out before Theon was able to kill it, which left Bran stuck in his warging form. Without the calls to go off of, certain strategies they relied on fell apart; the Dothraki army was cut in half when they charged towards the wights. Jorah died stopping a White Walker from spearing Drogon while Dany was on his back. But a spear did take down Viserion. After that, it was as though a switch was flipped, and the White Walkers called their wights back, their army retreating into the North, taking the dead with them- Viserion included. 

After that, Dany, Jon, and Sansa led their armies south, knowing that, with a dragon now at his command, the Night King could easily access all of Westeros. They travelled for King’s Landing; Jaime, who proved his loyalties as he fought in the battle under Brienne of Tarth’s command, suggested that now was the time for Dany to overthrow Cersei. With all of Westeros under one ruler, a bigger army would be able to band together against the Night King. Though they still doubted him, even Jon agreed that was the best plan; it would draw the Night King and his army to a new location that he didn’t know, and that they could have an advantage over. 

Along the way, at the Neck, Sansa made a detour to find Meera Reed. Though she didn’t know Meera well, she had spoken to her when she first arrived back at Winterfell with Bran. If anyone would be able to free Bran from wherever he was locked away inside his own head, it would be her. Meera couldn’t do anything for him at that point, but she went with the armies to King’s Landing to fight- for Bran. 

…

When they arrived at King’s Landing, Jaime knew that he was the best way to get to Cersei. He figured that he would offer her one last chance to be rational; seeing the way that their numbers depleted, seeing that the Night King could now travel farther south, there was a small chance she would listen and cooperate, to unify an army of the living. As he made his way to the castle, Arya went with him, planning to use her faceless man training to their advantage. 

Brienne had barely agreed to let him out of her sight; he told her what happened last time he saw Cersei- how she nearly had him killed. But Jaime insisted that he alone must go; if Brienne went with him, he knew Cersei would go mad with jealousy, negating any progress he could have made with her. It was clear Brienne worried about a reunion, but Jaime knew that he could handle it, knew he no longer harbored any feelings for his twin. Now, he was merely a messenger, urging her to drop her weapons and work with the Dragon Queen. 

Jaime maneuvered into the Red Keep through one of the passages Tyrion had show him, Arya trailing silently behind him. They’d agreed to keep a low profile as long as possible, though that ended quickly, as they met Qyburn in the first stairwell. 

“Ser Jaime,” Qyburn said, his expression stony, “I thought your last encounter with Cersei made it clear you were no longer welcome here.” His eyes shifted to meet Arya’s, “Especially not when you bring along a pet wolf.” 

Jaime looked to Arya with a slight nod. Before he could react, Arya silenced Qyburn in the same manner in which she executed Petyr Baelish. 

She knelt down next to Qyburn’s body, “This will take just a moment.” Jaime looked away from her then, not wanting to know precisely how she would steal the man’s face. 

When she stood up, Arya was no longer herself. Qyburn looked back at Jaime, not a hint of Arya even in his eyes. “Here,” even the voice was Qyburn’s. “It’s my dagger. You’ll have a better chance at getting to Cersei than I will if it comes down to it.” 

Jaime nodded, placing the sheathed dagger on his belt, next to Widow’s Wail. He took another step forward, “Ready?” 

Arya as Qyburn nodded once, “But if it comes down to it, I get first shot at the Mountain.” 

Lips curled into a small smile, Jaime nodded, “Gladly.” 

When they arrived in the main hall, Cersei was on the Iron Throne, a smug expression on her face, as if she expected Jaime to come running back to her.

“Grown tired of the North and that beast you left me for?” 

“Cersei. The Night King, the White Walkers, they won at Winterfell, and they will win here, too, if we don’t work together to stop him. Even then, it will be difficult.” Jaime eyes were pleading, her matching ones stone cold. 

“I’m sure your queen still expects me to bend the knee, and I can assure you that that won’t happen. As long as there is a person left living in this realm, I will remain the queen.” The Mountain stood tall next to Cersei. At a tilt of her head, he moved a hand to the hilt of his sword, closing his fist around it. Jaime knew then that she was a lost cause. He considered all of the ways to go from there, and doubted whether he would live past that moment. 

So he changed tactics and softened his expression, “Cersei…” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Arya walk closer to the throne, as if Qyburn was positioning himself next to the queen. 

Jaime moved closer to Cersei, trying to look as vulnerable as possible, but he didn’t close the distance between them. He needed her to come to him. Jaime dropped his left hand, which until that pointed rested atop Widow’s Wail. He extended his hand slightly, palm facing upward. 

Cersei was slow in her movements, but she rose from the throne. With a look to the Mountain to stand down, she walked towards Jaime. The moment they touched, a roar echoed from outside. Cersei’s head snapped up to the high window above the Iron Throne, and a large figure swooped through the sky from a distance. While Cersei would think it was Daenerys, Jaime knew better; he had spent enough time in the presence of her two remaining dragons to know that this was Viserion and the Night King. 

Cersei’s eyes glinted with malice as she opened her mouth; she would tell the Mountain to kill Jaime, then order her own defenses against Daenerys. No matter what, she would not stand down to the Dragon Queen, not even in the face of the undead. Before she could speak, Jaime slipped Arya’s dagger from its sheath and rushed forward, as if to embrace Cersei, plunging its point into her chest. Her gasp was muffled against his shoulder as he held her head tight to him with his golden hand. Cersei slumped slightly in his arms and he knew it was over. Jaime pulled the dagger back, slipping it back into its sheath. He released his hold on her slightly, looking into Cersei’s eyes one last time; for once, he found no hate or anger there- just emptiness. 

Jaime knew he only had seconds before the Mountain would realize what happened, and so he looked to Arya before letting Cersei crumple to the floor. As Arya approached the Mountain, Jaime steadied himself into a battle stance behind her. 

…

Brienne watched from her position at the front of the Red Keep, looking for any sign of movement, any sign of Jaime. She had seen the Night King scouring the city from Viserion’s back, and knew where he would be headed once he finished his rampage. With one look at Pod, Brienne turned and rushed into the castle, knowing that Cersei was no longer the greatest threat. 

It had been years since she’d been in the castle, but she managed to find the main hall in a matter of minutes. She arrived to see Jaime and another man- Qyburn, from the looks of him- in battle with the Mountain. Wasting no time, Brienne joined them, acting as a distraction to catch the Mountain’s attention. As the Mountain made a move towards her, Qyburn stepped in, slashing the Mountain across the neck as Jaime thrust Widow’s Wail through his armored chest. 

The Mountain staggered backwards, though still conscious. While he struggled, disoriented, Qyburn gave an irritated sigh, “Screw this,” and he raised a hand to his neck and pulled his face away, becoming Arya. With a few jabs of her dagger, Arya had the Mountain backing towards the Iron Throne. A firm, swift kick to his chest sent the Mountain reeling backwards and into the many swords of the throne’s back. 

For a moment, the three stood unmoving, waiting to see if the Mountain would recover. But he remained still. 

Brienne stepped back, and took in the rest of the room- she noticed Cersei for the first time, face down on the floor, as if kneeling before the throne, her crown knocked off of her head. 

Brienne looked back at Jaime, who only nodded. “I’m sorry,” Brienne said- she didn’t really know what else to say. 

“It’s over now, with her at least,” Jaime responded, squeezing Brienne’s hand in his. 

“The Night King, he’s-“ Brienne started. 

Jaime finished, “Close, I know.” 

“He’ll be aiming for the castle.” Arya noted. 

Brienne gave her a questioning look, eyes flickering down to Qyburn’s robes. But Arya disregarded it and continued, “We should go to the Tower of the Hand- get a better vantage point.” Arya smirked as she transformed back into Qyburn, “Gotta look the part of the Hand, right?” 

There was only one guard in front of the Tower of the Hand and he didn’t question Jaime or Brienne’s presence beside Qyburn. It seemed most of the castle guards were preoccupied with the sound of dragons in King’s Landing. Once alone again, Arya removed Qyburn’s face, and the three rushed to the open balcony to look over the city for the Night King. 

There was a clash of blue and red flames in the sky as the Night King and Dany battled atop Viserion and Drogon. Arya drew back from the balcony and searched around the Tower for a few minutes before coming back out with Joffrey’s old crossbow. 

“I figured the bastard would keep something like this,” Arya noted of Qyburn. She took aim and fired her first shot into the sky. 

“What are you doing?” Brienne asked. 

“Making a distraction.” Arya explained as she loaded another arrow, “Even if we can’t kill Viserion, we can get his attention, and Daenerys can use that to her advantage.” 

“And what if it works too well and they come flying towards us?” Jaime asked, his voice rising. 

Arya shot again, “We all have Valerian steel.” One more shot and Arya caught the attention of Viserion. With a moment’s reprieve from the blue flames, Drogon roared his fire towards the Night King- but the icy man was still visible when the smoke cleared. Viserion began charging towards the Red Keep. 

Brienne pushed in front of Arya, trying to get her to recede into the Tower. “Jaime and I have swords, you stay back and look for any weaknesses first.” Arya held her gaze for a moment then nodded, stepping backwards. 

Brienne and Jaime unsheathed Oathkeeper and Widow’s Wail as Viserion drew closer. The beat of the large wings was enough to send them reeling backwards. But as quickly as he came, Viserion left, depositing the Night King before them on the balcony. 

For a moment, he only stood there, looking between the two. Then he looked past them to Arya, and slowly raised his hands. The Night King slowly smiled, then lifted a hand backward to grab the spear from his back. Brienne and Jaime moved closer to each other, standing between the Night King and Arya. But he didn’t move to attack her. Instead, he merely lifted his spear in defense. 

Brienne realized that he was waiting for something- or someone. She found her answer moments later, as Cersei and the Mountain burst through the Tower door, eyes shining bright blue. 

…

Arya immediately went for Cersei. As a wight, Cersei was a better fighter than she was as a human. But Arya anticipated that. She fought with her dagger in her left hand, and her dragon glass spear in her right. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Arya saw Brienne and Jaime take on the Mountain. The Night King, it seemed, was content to watch the battle- for now. 

Attempting to catch him off guard, Arya threw her spear at the Night King, but he caught it and crushed it with little hesitation. As he stalked forward a step towards her, Arya finished off Cersei with a dagger to her stomach. 

As Arya started to move, the door opened again and Sandor crashed into the room, pinning the Mountain to the ground. He was about to draw his sword when he noticed the blue eyes. Sandor raised his eyes to Arya, who threw her dagger to him. Sandor caught the dagger and plunged it into the Mountain’s eye. 

He withdrew it once again and tossed it back to Arya, as Brienne and Jaime shifted their attention to the Night King. Together, they were equally matched with the undead king. It seemed that every time they got the upper hand, he would somehow get it back. Their combat took the three of them onto the balcony, the Night King in between Jaime and Brienne as he used both sides of his spear to counter their swords. 

As Jaime parried one of the Night King’s thrust, he caught Brienne’s gaze for a moment. Wordlessly, they formed a new attack. As the Night King turned toward his attention to Brienne, she ducked his blow rather than block it, instead swinging her sword into his side, as Jaime swung into his other side. Oathkeeper and Widow’s Wail sang as they met in the center. 

The Night King dropped his spear as the two Valerian swords combined power to shatter him into a million shards. A pained cry echoed across King’s Landing as Viserion fell to his final death, crashing into the ruins of the Dragon Pit. 

Daenerys flew above the city atop Drogon, as he and Rhaegal mourned the loss of their sibling. Dany directed Drogon back to the ground to find Jon Snow. She realized she could have gone straight for the Iron Throne, but she needed to find him first, and understand how they won, and where they go from here on.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this was an entertaining read! Originally I had planned for this to have multiple storylines, following Jaime and Brienne (because of course it's Braime), but also a few other characters (and some... surprise ships) as they figure out how to rule Westeros. Please let me know what you all think- I would love your input. That being said, if anyone would like to Beta this story please let me know! It's a bigger project than I'm used to tackling and I want to make sure I get things right. So, if you have any interest in Beta-ing, feel free to leave a comment, email me at maybeaslytherin@gmail.com, or message me on tumblr @slytherinoftarth. 
> 
> The next chapter will bring explanations as to what happened with the Night King as well as what other characters were doing during the battle. 
> 
> I just finished classes for the semester, and actually for all of undergrad, so yay! That being said, I'm hoping to find time to write pretty frequently. Though, with everything going on in the world it's sometimes hard to sit down and find the motivation to write. But I am planning on updating with relative consistency!


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